Middlesbrough have a number of players away on international duty right now.
Since the arrival of Michael Carrick at the Riverside Stadium, the number of Middlesbrough players on international duty has grown significantly.
After securing two wins, one draw and suffering one defeat in August, Boro released 10 players for international duty earlier this month.
Anfernee Dijksteel and Isaiah Jones faced off when Suriname travelled to Guyana in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Summer signing Ben Doak made his Scotland debut last week as well, joined in the national side by another Teessider, Tommy Conway.
Elsewhere, Hayden Hackney represented England at U21 level, while Eric Hamelberg featured for Portugal’s Under-18s.
Last season’s top goalscorer Emmanuel Latte Lath was in action for Ivory Coast, and Aidan Morris secured his first international assist for the USA against Canada last week.
United States media react to Aidan Morris performance vs New Zealand
Morris was back in action in the early hours of Wednesday morning when the USA faced off with New Zealand in an international friendly.
The Boro midfielder will have been keen to shine as new manager Mauricio Pochettino watched on.
Christian Pulisic fired the USA into the lead after 69 minutes but the home side failed to hold out for the win with Ben Waine scoring an equaliser with one minute of normal time to play.
It was not an overly great performance from the Americans but Morris was one of the few bright sparks on the day and he has since earned praise from the national media.
Soccer America rated the Middlesbrough star 6/10 – the joint-highest rating out of all the players – and shone a light on his passing ability.
They wrote: “Morris performed the role as designed. Keeping central attacks at bay and seizing chances to aid his team’s offense when they opened up.
“His cross-field pass with a back-spin to Fossey ahead of Pulisic’s goal arrived with the precision too rare in recent USMNT play.”
American media outlet Barrons also called Morris, along with Marlon Fossey, ‘one of the few real bright spots for the Americans’.
Aidan Morris will be a major star for Middlesbrough
The 22-year-old only arrived in the North East in July but has already cemented himself as a key player.
Morris has started and impressed in every Championship match so far this season, replacing an injured Jonny Howson in the centre of midfield.
Despite having zero experience outside the MLS before the start of 2024/25, the midfielder is coping well with the demands of the second division and has arguably, along with Matt Clarke, been Boro’s most consistent performer.
In fact, the player has performed so well that Middlesbrough may be in danger of losing Morris to a Premier League side after just six months, much like they did with Morgan Rogers in the previous campaign.
The Teesiders are back in league action versus Preston North End on Saturday and Morris is once again expected to partner Hackney in the centre of midfield.